The Lakers (11-12) visit the Atlanta Hawks (12-12) on Monday night, their third stop on a four-game road trip.

When they met on Nov. 3, Pau Gasol hit a pair of free throws with six seconds left, followed by a crucial block of a Kyle Korver attempt, to give the Lakers a 105-103 victory.

Outside of the Indiana Pacers (20-3) and Miami Heat (17-6), the Hawks are the only team in the Eastern Conference at .500.

The Lakers are coming off their first win since Kobe Bryant returned from Achilles surgery. Bryant will continue to start at point guard while the Lakers wait for Steve Nash (back), Steve Blake (elbow) and Jordan Farmar (hamstring) to return from their injuries.

Key matchup

Korver was a problem for the Lakers in November, scoring 22 points on just 10 shot attempts (including a perfect 6-6 from beyond the arc).

At the time, the Lakers started Blake at shooting guard next to Steve Nash.

Now the Lakers have Bryant back, either point guard Jeff Teague, small forward DeMarre Carroll or Korver will be tasked with guarding the Lakers' all-star.

Bryant is coming of his best game since his return, scoring 21 points with eight assists and seven rebounds against the Charlotte Bobcats. Where he needs to improve most is turnovers -- he had seven in Charlotte.